B&Q looks fine but fear for others if a 'softening' retail market becomes any soggier

Just what an embattled chancellor needs on the eve of a tax-raising budget: a leading retailer upping its profits forecast and singing about the joys of the UK economy.

- Nils Pratley

Unfortunately, only the first bit is true. Kingfisher, owner of B&Q and Screwfix (and similar businesses in France and Poland), raised its profit expectations for its current financial year from £480m-£540m to £540m-£570m.

But report definitely didn’t ooze confidence in the UK’s finiancial outlook. Rather, Kingfisher noted “softening market conditions” and added: “We continue to be mindful of inflation, uncertainty ahead of the autumn budget and the softening labour market.”

In other words, the group is saying its improvement in the profits department is a self-help job, which is fair. Like-for-like sales in the UK in the last quarter were up 3%. It is winning market share in the UK (where it helps that Homebase went into administration a year ago), grabbing a bigger slice of the professional “trade” market and improving its e-commerce game.